Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness writer Michael Waldron reveals that the film almost had a very different role for Reed Richards. After his introduction in 2016's Doctor Strange, Benedict Cumberbatch's eponymous sorcerer has become a mainstay of the MCU. The character most recently appeared in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness from director Sam Raimi, which saw Doctor Strange face off against Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen), after she attempts to use the Darkhold to reunite with her children in another universe, no matter the cost.
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As with any other MCU movie, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is not without its surprising cameos. One of the film's most shocking sequences involved Strange being taken before the Illuminati on Earth-838, where he comes face-to-face with Patrick Stewart's Professor X, Anson Mount's Black Bolt, Hayley Atwell's Captain Carter, Lashana Lynch's Maria Rameau, Chiwetel Ejiofor's Mordo, and John Krasinski's Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic. Krasinski's turn as Richards, in particular, was a welcome addition to the film for many fans, with the actor having long been fan-cast as the iconic Fantastic Four team leader. Richards' role in the film is relatively short-lived, with Wanda shredding him to ribbons shortly after her arrival, but now, Waldron explains he initially had other plans for the iconic character.
In a new interview with Empire Magazine, Waldron reveals that his first draft of the script actually introduced Richards in one of the movie's post-credit scenes. The scene in question involved the events of the story being documented and analyzed from the Baxter Building in New York City with an elasticky arm then coming into frame to wind the tape back. Check out Waldron's full comment below:
“That’s the big one, right? I always wanted Reed Richards in this thing. In my very first draft, I wrote a tag just for the hell of it, of the events of the movie being recorded and reviewed by somebody in the Baxter Building, and a stretchy hand coming into frame to run it back. Reed is probably my favorite Marvel comics character, so I was always gunning to get him in here somewhere.”
While many fans were thrilled to see Krasinski bring Mister Fantastic to life on the big screen, others were left disappointed by the reveal, either because they weren't satisfied with the actor's performance or because his screen time was so short-lived. The Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness post-credit scene that Waldron describes likely would've been even more universally well-received simply because it's more of a straightforward tease than an actual unveiling of the character. Interestingly, though, it would seem that Mister Fantastic was always likely to appear in the film in one form or another just because of how much Waldron likes the character.
If nothing else, Waldron's comment affirms just how much can change from early drafts of the script to what ends up on the screen. While Mister Fantastic's arm was originally all that appeared in the Doctor Strange sequel, that moment eventually evolved into a full-on action sequence where the character has dialogue and is ultimately shredded to ribbons by Scarlet Witch. Although Richards' portrayal in the film has proven somewhat divisive, the MCU has the opportunity to give the character another shot after Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness with a Fantastic Four film expected to release during Phase 6.